


Avatar: Tale of Four Spirits

by xLoLix



Series: Avatar: ToFS and Other Stories [1]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Avatar Cycle, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Major Original Character(s), Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Avatar: The Last Airbender, Post-Avatar: The Legend of Korra, Post-Canon, Swearing, all original characters - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-05
Updated: 2018-05-19
Packaged: 2019-03-27 07:04:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13875681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xLoLix/pseuds/xLoLix
Summary: When the White Lotus failed to find the next avatar for twenty years, rumors that the avatar cycle had been broken began to spread. And with the rise of the new spirit guides, many people are convinced the avatar is no longer necessarily. Then one particularly stubborn White Lotus member thinks he finds them.





	1. Chapter 1

Ping stares down at the teacup in front of him. The liquid jostles and sways but doesn’t spill. It’s a testament to the careful engineering put into the railway system. But now that he has the tea in front of him, he doesn't feel too inclined to drink. From the look of his adopted daughter, she doesn’t seem very inclined either.

Aruna stares out the window of the train car, vast expanses of the Earth Kingdom pass by quickly.

'What makes you think this one isn't a hoax this time?' Aruna asks pensively.

Ping sighs in sympathy. Poor thing. Aruna had become disillusioned fairly quickly about the task of seeking out the avatar. It’s less about finding the right person so much as it is about disproving all manner of hoaxes. They generally deal with dishonest people at worst and misguided people at best. To Ping, it's taxing on resources. To Aruna, it’s a venture in futility.

Ping had started bringing Aruna along when he first took custody of her at six. Ten years on and she still holds fast to the deep exasperation inspired by these trips.

'In truth, I don’t think this one is any different.' says Ping. 'It’s more than likely another hoax. Regardless, it is our duty to respond to every claim on the off chance that the avatar has returned.'

Ping said 'our' but he really means 'his'. Aruna isn’t technically a member of the White Lotus, and he is the only one that hasn’t given up the search. Ping only brought Aruna along because the alternative was to leave her with the monks and acolytes at the temple. They tend to be stricter with Aruna than he is, bless. It’s not a great place for a restless sixteen-year-old. Chances are she would have snuck out on them anyways.

Aruna slumps, leaning down even harder on the elbow that props up her chin, sulking.

'Er, well,' Ping struggles to find a silver lining in all this. 'Thu- think of this as an informal vacation!'

Aruna turns to Ping to show him that her expression has formed a full on pout. Oh dear.

'I hear the mountains in this province are beautiful...' Ping mumbles.

'Can we just get this over with so we can go home?'

'Of course, darling,' says Ping.

\--

The town Ping is after isn’t accessible by train. So the two disembark at a neighbouring town at the foot of the mountain. From there they take a cable car to the top, where a busy industrial town called Vayu collects natural gas to transport to the bottom, and trades it away for goods otherwise scarce on the mountaintops.

'Welcome, honoured guests!' A man with a weathered looking face says in greeting. The man is a barrel chested, bearded fellow, wearing heavy looking coveralls and gloves. 'Apologies for the informality, you caught me in the middle of my work. I'm Xia Gang, foreman of this lovely operation.'

'It’s a pleasure,' Ping says as he shakes Xia's hand (sans glove). 'I am Ping of the White Lotus, and this is my daughter, Aruna.'

'What will happen when you run out?' Aruna asks from just a little behind Ping.

Her eyes are fixed to the top if the large rig that dwarfs everything else in the mountaintop town. From it hangs a series of pulleys and cranes meant to hoist and lower all manner of equipment.

'Curious little tyke you brought with ya, eh?' Xia laughs. 'We won’t run out of natural gas for at least a hundred years!'

'Yes, but you will eventually,' Aruna persists. Her gaze doesn’t waver from staring at the large rig. 'What will happen then?'

'Er,' Xia shuffles and doesn’t answer, caught off guard.

Ping catches a pleading look from Xia.

'We are here,' says Ping and lays a stern hand on Aruna's shoulder. 'Because there is a claim that the avatar has made an appearance in your town.' Ping lilts the end of his phrase up like a question.

'Ah- yes!' Xia brightens back up. 'Come,' Xia turns and leads the two into the village. 'We will discuss over some tea.'

It's apparent that Vayu is built around some old ruins, even if it's been about two hundred years since the first settlers landed here. The space on the mountaintop is unexpectedly large. Five hundred people living on a mountaintop is not as farfetched as it sounds now that Ping is up here to witness it. Ping can’t help but spare a glance or dozen to the Rig. Massive and ever present.

'Are those air benders?' Aruna asks, pointing at the old and crumbling statues being used to hold rafters and piping up.

'They sure are,' says Xia.

'Isn’t that... sacrilegious?'

'Probably,' Xia says over his shoulder. 'People first settled here during the Hundred Year War. When avatar Aang found them, he told them they were allowed to use the space as they see fit. Least according to some of the older folk.'

Aruna hmms in response.

They are lead through what is clearly the more industrialized part of town. The architecture has a very open layout, severely lacking in enclosed spaces, which preserves the outdoor living feel that the original air nomad people had originally established. Plenty of pipes and catwalks hang overhead. Ping seems to recall reading something about 'explosive properties'. They are lead up winding stairs in a tower. Open windows show off more of the changes the settles people have put into place. In the distance, Ping sees buildings that are left untouched, with fields for some of the local fauna. The actual 'town' part of Vayu, Ping assumes.

'You sure did a number on the place,' Ping comments. He tries his best to sound neither here nor there. 'Is it... safe?'

Xia lets out a hearty laugh. 'Heavens no!'

Aruna and Ping share a look.

'Just because the mountain didn’t collapse when it exploded during the war doesn’t mean it can’t do that now.' The joke - if you can call it that - falls flat. 'If there’s money to be made, and a job to do, there are people who will do it.' Xia offers as explanation. 'Here we are.'

They are brought through a door into what is obviously an office. Diagrams are pinned to the wall alongside a map of the town. Charts, data tables, forms, and binders are all piled about in the organized chaos of a living work space. Another man stands examining one of the charts. He looks up when they enter.

'Jinn, these are members of the White Lotus,' Xia says and gestures to the two newcomers, 'Ping and Aruna.'

Jinn is a younger man, Ping guesses in his twenties. A larger man as well, like Xia. Something about him gives Ping the impression he doesn’t want to be here, but he makes no move to excuse himself and leave.

They are all invited to sit, Jinn included, and Xia busies himself with setting a kettle on for tea. It's heated over a burner, one likely fueled by the very natural gas that springs forth from the mountain.

'So,' Ping clears his throat. 'You say you have the avatar. When can I meet the young lad?'

Xia pauses and gives Ping an incredulous look, eyes disappearing between his bushy eyebrows and his beard. 'I just did.'

'You what?' Ping blinks in confusion.

'It's him,' says Aruna, tipping her head towards Jinn. 'He's saying this guy is the avatar.'

That’s certainly new. Ping was expecting a child, not a fully grown adult. All of the usual methods of determination are well out the window.

Jinn, despite his size, shrinks into himself. 'So people say,' he half mumbles.

'How old are you? When's your birthday?' Ping asks.

'I'll be turning twenty in three weeks,' says Jinn.

'That's... right,' says Ping.

'He means that's around the time avatar Korra disappeared,' says Aruna. Her eyes narrow in suspicion.

Of course, anyone could have known that information.

'Tell me about your bending,' Ping says. 'Are you able to bend more than one element?'

'No, actually,' Jinn looks down. 'I only found out I was an earth bender about two years ago.' There's a hint of shame in his voice.

That's... unusual. If not unheard of. All benders, regardless, usually come about at around age six. Evidence of their ability usually appearing well before then, even. If Ping is going to be honest with himself, he's now actively hoping this one is a hoax. Sure, the world would breathe easier knowing the avatar cycle was not broken, as many a rumour claimed. But... an avatar almost two decades behind schedule?

'Go on, Jinn,' says Xia. 'Tell them about your visions.'

Jinn blushes, still hardly looking up at anyone. 'Ah,' says Jinn. 'It's not as important as he's making it sound,' he looks up a Ping and says more firmly, 'we really shouldn't have bothered the honourable members of the White Lotus.'

'Jinn,' Xia says with a warning tone.

'I’m sorry we wasted your time calling you here,' says Jinn, his tone still polite, almost genuinely apologetic.

'Jinn!' Xia turns to Ping, 'I'm sorry about that. Jinn can be a bit abrasive.'

Ping can already pick a good manner of words to describe Jinn. He's not so sure he'd pick 'abrasive' as one of them. Maybe 'reluctant'. Ping thinks he's starting to get the picture. There are still a lot of pieces missing. He's going to have to investigate further. At least now he's intrigued.

He glances over at Aruna, who is sitting up straighter than Ping currently sits. She tips her head subtly in the direction of the door. He nods in response.

Ping clears his throat, 'I’m sorry, but if you could excuse us a moment.'

'Of course,' Xia waves a hand towards the door.

Aruna is quick to stand up after Ping.

'We'll be back in a moment,' Ping says as he exits.

Aruna shuts the door behind her and follows Ping down the stairs until they're around a corner out of site of the office.

'I'm getting the oddest feeling,' Aruna says as she plays with the hem of her sleeve, 'that this might be the real deal.'

'I'd hold that judgement,' Ping says slowly. 'But I can't say I disagree either.'

It's been well over five years since the last time someone claimed to have the avatar. A claim now would only appear to the public as incredibly distasteful at best.

'Jinn doesn't seem like he likes the idea of being the avatar,' says Aruna.

'Most avatars don't at first,' Ping glances up the stairs. He doesn't expect his hosts to be so rude as to eavesdrop. 'I'm curious about those visions that were mentioned.'

Ping and Aruna ascend back up the stairs and enter the office.

The air in the office is tense. Some words were exchanged between Xia and Jinn. Ping does his best to ignore it and sits down like nothing happened.

'Er, if you don't mind,' says Ping. 'We'd like to stay a couple days, if that isn't too much trouble.'

'Yes, yes, of course,' says Xia, clearly a little delighted. 'We have some accommodations for you. Stay as long as you need.' He grins through his beard.

Jinn, Ping notes, looks worried.

\--

Like any old air nation architecture, Ping's accommodations opened up to the outside with a generous balcony. Still, evidence of modernization took over the space. A shutter was even installed if one felt more comfortable in an enclosed room. Ping doesn’t plan to use it. It wasn’t in the spirit of the air nomad's intentions. Even with the comforts of the modern world reaching even more remote locations like Vayu, nothing could ever match the breathtaking view of the surrounding mountains.

It was after supper, and Aruna took it upon herself to take a look around the town. Ping on the other hand figured there was no harm in turning in for an early night. A knock on the door forced Ping to put that plan on hold.

'Er, hi,' it was Jinn, 'I hope I'm not disturbing you.'

'Not at all!' Ping makes a motion to let Jinn in.

It’s a rather unexpected visit, but not an unwelcome one. Jinn enters but doesn’t sit. From the determined look on his face, Ping can tell he wants to keep this short and to the point.

'I just want to make it clear I never asked for you to come up here,' says Jinn.

That much Ping had figured.

'And I also think Xia jumped the gun by calling you here,' Jinn continues.

'Perhaps,' says Ping, 'he mentioned something about you having visions. Are you able to contact spirits?'

There’s an audible 'click' when Jinn snaps his jaw shut and levels Ping a barely controlled glare.

Ping just chuckles. 'It’s not as uncommon as you think,' says Ping, 'there are plenty of spirit guides in the world today.'

Ever since avatar Korra bridged the gap between the Spirit and Physical worlds, people with a high affinity for spirits have been turning up and acting as liaisons for their local communities. A lot of the more honest claims to the avatar have turned out to be spirit guides.

Jinn either doesn’t buy Ping's reassurance or chooses to reserve some skepticism or both. Like the old earth kingdom stereotype, Jinn would rather stick to what he knows and can see. Jinn makes no comment.

'You’ll most likely turn out to be a spirit guide,' says Ping, 'if it makes you feel any better.'

Jinn sighs. 'You’re not going to leave yet,' it’s not a question.

'No.'

'Not until you’re convinced one way or the other,' says Jinn, 'about me being the avatar.'

'Correct,' Ping smiles.

Jinn purses his lips and glances away.

'Are you afraid that you might be the one?' Ping asks gently.

Jinn doesn’t answer right away. 'I don’t know,' he says.

Ping follows where Jinn is looking and his eyes land on the small table in the room. Ping has several things unpacked and laid out meticulously.

'What are these?' Jinn asks. He picks up one of the objects.

It’s a small carved piece of ivory, yellowed with age. A few strings still dangle from the figure. Ping watches Jinn turn the carved bone over in his hand, his fingers running over the carvings in what is supposed to be a face. The crude groves weathered with time. Jinn looks over at the other objects. A wooden box with wheels. A spinning top and string. A series of nested rings.

'Toys,' says Ping, 'I wanted to check them for damage. Some of them are quite old, you see.'

'Why toys?'

'It’s part of how we search for the avatar,' Ping says as he picks up a ball attached to a sting and cup. 'The avatar can pick out the toys they had in their past life.'

Jinn puts the carved doll down, but Ping doesn’t miss how he nearly dropped it, as if he couldn’t put it down fast enough. He tried to make the motion seem natural by acting vaguely disinterested in the rest of the toys. His brow furrows as he picks up another object.

This one is made of brown leather. There’s a small metal disk attached to a power cell. The disk is imbedded into the palm of a right handed glove. The size and shape of which suggests a woman’s hand. The power cell is attached to straps that are presumably meant for securing around a forearm.

'This isn’t a toy,' says Jinn. He slides the leather straps between thumb and forefinger.

Ping laughs. ‘Definitely not,' he says. He is still looking over this collection laid out on the table.

'Is this your daughter's?' Jinn asks.

'Mine actually,' Ping waves one of his slim hands to demonstrate. 'I have run into more trouble than id like in my search.'

Jinn hmms at that. He’s looking more closely at the handiwork of the power cell. 'Interesting,' Jinn mutters.

It occurs to Ping he knows almost nothing about Jinn or what he does. 'What kind of work do you do up on here on Vayu?' Ping asks.

'Anything,' Jinn answers vaguely. 'Apparently I'm good at fixing things.' Jinn turns the glove over, following the wires from the discharge disk with his fingers to the power cell compartment.

'Anything?' says Ping.

'Anything.' Jinn nods. 'It's not hard to learn when almost every person you meet growing up works at the Rig. A lot of people like to complain.' Jinn huffs out a short laugh. 'So I fix things. Usually whatever Xia needs fixing the most.'

'Speaking of Xia,' says Ping. 'He mentioned you have visions. Are they of local spirits?' Ping wants to steer the conversation into more favourable territory. He's not entirely sure how well that would pan out for him, but Jinn hasn’t shut him out completely yet. It may be worth the gamble.

Jinn seems too preoccupied with the electrified glove to pay any more attention to Ping. He glances up for a moment, 'mostly.'

Ping's eyebrows shoot up.

He tugs at a thin metal plate, and the piece comes off with a snap. 'Uh,' Jinn snaps back to attention, remembering the glove isn't his, 'I'm sorry. Do you mind?'

'Nah,' Ping waves another gracious hand, 'It could probably use a good tinker. It's quite old, you see.'

Jinn snorts. 'No kidding,' he says.

He's right. The glove that Ping carries is very old. Peering a little over Jinn's shoulder, Ping can see the old rusting pieces. Some of the rust has been carved out with tools that were needed to replace some of the more abysmal pieces. Ping doesn't have a good eye for these things necessarily, but judging from the near scandalized grunt from Jinn, the electrified glove is in bad shape.

'What other kinds of visions do you get?' Ping asks. It seems a distracted Jinn is more prone to speaking openly.

Jinn's brow furrows. He tugs at a piece of hardware that doesn't come easy. Ping thinks it might be a resistor or a fuse. He's not sure.

'Sometimes there's a boy,' Jinn says.

'Someone you know?'

Jinn shakes his head. 'I think he might be a fire bender? I'm not sure.'

A fire bender in this industry is a disaster waiting to happen.

'It's like, he knows who I am,' Jinn continues. 'But he's also waiting for me? I can never figure out what he wants.'

'How do you know he's a fire bender?' Ping keeps the questions rolling.

Jinn frowns at the resistor/fuse. He mutters something Ping doesn't quite catch. There's a mix of disbelief and exasperation in his tone. It doesn't seem like Jinn got his question.

'What makes you think he's important?' Ping tries instead.

'He just is.' It's the most sure thing Jinn has said. It also carries a sense of finality in that line of questioning.

Ping isn't sure what to make of it. He wants to know more.

'You can keep it if you like,' says Ping.

This seems to startle Jinn out of his narrow focus. He has a protest on the tip of his tongue but Ping beats him to it.

'No need to fuss,' Ping says cheerfully, 'You seem to know you know what you're doing.'

'But...' Jinn tries in vain.

Ping closes Jinn's hands around the electrified glove and gives him another smile. 'Keep it,' he says again, 'I doubt I'm going to need it between here and Republic City.' It nearly a direct path all by rail. One of the safer methods of travel.

Jinn looks like he wants to say more but Ping gives him a look that silently suggests there's no room for more argument.

'Er, thank you,' Jinn says instead.

Ping nods his approval. 'It's the least I can do. You've welcomed us into your town.'

Jinn scowls like he knows that's not at all what he's done so far. 'I think,' he says, 'it should only be right of me to accept your tests to determine if I am the avatar.'

Ping's eyebrows shoot straight up. That's quite the turnaround. To think the young man had come here to try and persuade Ping from leaving before he could do just that. Ping tries his best to school his expression back into something more pleasantly neutral.

'It's getting late,' Jinn straightens up, newly acquired gift still in hand. 'I should leave you alone.'

'I look forward to getting to know you more,' Ping says as he walks Jinn to the door, 'Good night, Jinn.’

Jinn says his 'good night's and heads off.

Ping watches him go. Jinn case is very odd indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Tom.


	2. Chapter 2

Jinn liked to consider himself a pretty simple person. He was generally quite satisfied with his life on the mountain. He enjoyed the scenery, had good company, and did fine work. So to see Xia make such a huge deal over things Jinn didn't really consider to be a big deal (an idiom about mountains and badgermoles comes to mind) was really exhausting.

Jinn is not the avatar.

Inviting the white lotus to prove this felt like wasted efforts.

Except the white lotus seems to think he _is_ the avatar.

Already, Jinn doesn't view their new guests in a favourable light.

While Jinn regretted agreeing to the test, he figured he only has to humour Ping once. As he expected, Ping did not deviate from using the collection of toys. There was nothing special about it, Ping had just said 'go ahead'. So Jinn picked three seemingly unrelated toys and called it a day. (He tries not to glean any meaning from the ivory doll that had found its way into his hand again.)

The following couple of days continue with little interruption to Jinn's routine. The only real break from this are when Xia tries to coax him into joining him for meals, which would subsequently lead to them being joined by Aruna and Ping. He could only turn down the offer so many times. In an effort to be polite to the extra company, Jinn had tolerated their presence. Once. After that, he's duck out any time Xia appeared, actively leaving any time his boss showed up.

That's when Ping had started seeking him out.

Jinn knows what he's said. That he was supposed to accept the tests for the avatar. Why he succumbed to a brief lapse in sanity and said such a thing is beyond him. He deeply regrets it.

Having Ping around his workspace was undeniably worse. At least at dinner, Ping was half occupied with eating, and couldn't really carry a conversation without Jinn deliberately deflecting by shooting Xia a question about the Rig. Without that distraction, Ping was free to ask whatever he liked.

In an effort to ignore Ping, Jinn would just keep on doing whatever work he was doing. It seems to Jinn that whatever 'test for the avatar' Ping had either can't be applied or Ping has decided to just wing it. Until Jinn found himself babbling about forest spirits that had talked to him and lead him out of the surrounding forests the one time he had gotten lost in the valley when he was eight. Or the time he had been accused of saving an entire village when he was fifteen. Jinn finds himself recounting a tale about sharing a snack with a morose looking woman, and a tribesman who was convinced Jinn had inadvertently pleased a snow storm spirit. He had been asked for more details and Jinn had inadvertently delivered.

It would be around then that Jinn would finally look up and remember he's talking to Ping. His mood would sour and he'd make some excuse to leave. Ping kept finding him. The cycle would start over again.

Then, Ping got very direct with Jinn when it came to his line of questioning involving the visions he has had of the strange fire nation boy. This topic in particular did not sit well with Jinn, so this one was harder for him to ignore. Particularly because Ping seemed convinced Jinn was hiding something about it. The reality is that Jinn really didn't know. Eventually, Ping's incessant prodding ended with Jinn yelling at him to stop asking about it. That had shut him up.

When Ping had announced that he and Aruna would be heading back to Republic City, Jinn's relief was short lived. Ping had also asked Xia if he could take Jinn with him, for 'further evaluation'. Jinn knew that this was code for 'we think we've found the avatar but need to keep it under wraps'. He needs to get Ping to understand that he can't be the avatar.

His attempts fall on deaf ears.

\--

Jinn tries to quell his anxiety with things he's familiar with. That list includes the electrified glove he had only recently come across (thanks to a stranger from a faraway land). So it's hardly familiar, but considering the list currently includes maybe two other things if he's being generous, this is the only thing that has any hope of doing the job of actually calming Jinn down.

The list of things that are not familiar, in contrast, is very, very, long. Jinn has seen the train in Vayu’s valley town plenty of times. He's never actually been down to see one up close, let alone ride inside one. The passing scenery outside had quickly shifted from the tall peaks he's familiar with only to retreat behind the horizon to reveal large plateaus, farmlands, sparse forests, and bodies of water that don’t strictly flow by crashing off a sheer cliff on the mountain side. Sitting across from him is Ping's daughter - her name is Aruna, Jinn recalls - and she doesn't bother to conceal the openly curious stare she's giving Jinn. He's hardly interacted with her up until now. Even still, they've really only exchanged polite greetings.

Jinn forces himself to focus squarely on the electrified glove. In the short time he's owned it, he's replaced nearly all of the wiring, scrubbed off all of the rust and dirt, and given the metal covers a paint job to prevent further corrosion. Currently, he's got the leather all in pieces. He needs to either add to, or replace parts altogether in order to make the glove fit his own significantly larger hand. Unfortunately, he only owns black leather. So he has to settle with making a brown-and-black electrified glove and hope it doesn't look completely awful.

Jinn frowns. Why is he so invested in the damn thing anyways? It’s certainly a cute pet project, but that doesn't explain the single minded dedication he's poured into this project. He groans in frustration. Trying to make finicky leather pieces fit together has done nothing to quiet his aforementioned anxiety. That List of Things that are Not Familiar is really long.

Jinn puts the electrified glove down and tries something else.

'Does your dad know this thing is old as all hell?'

The tone he uses does not at all make it sound like a question, which makes it sound more like a shallow insult.

Aruna rolls her eyes. 'He spent a good two decades looking for the avatar. One of the most ancient legends on the planet. Of course he owns a good amount of old crap.'

Terrific. Jinn can tell Aruna is going to be excellent company. He tries again.

'Does it usually take that long?' Jinn asks.

'Does what?' Aruna brings her eyebrows together in confusion and then, 'Oh, you mean looking for the avatar? I don't remember hearing any stories like that, no.'

Ping had mentioned something about expecting a kid when it came to the avatar. He had brought all those toys. Yet somehow, Ping is convinced he found the avatar in Jinn. He hasn't offered an explanation as to how or why he thinks so either. They were all too busy fussing over the plan to get Jinn into Republic City to find him a proper earth bending teacher.

Even with all that, Jinn still has no idea how he fits into this entire equation. There's no way he's supposed to be the avatar. His protests continue to fall on deaf ears, much to his frustrations. Between Xia’s prideful boasts, and Ping’s optimistic insistence, Jinn can hardly get a word in edgewise. So he's tried his best to bear with it as he goes along with their plan to ship him out of Vayu. He wonders what would happen when they finally realize he's not the avatar.

'If it makes you feel better,' says Aruna, 'Just about every avatar is a first at something.'

Jinn really wants to believe Aruna is being earnest about trying to make Jinn feel better about his circumstances, but he can't help but take it as a backhanded compliment about how clearly lackluster he is as a new avatar. Jinn blames his inability to accept the comfort on his sour mood. 'Thanks,' he grunts out.

It’s right then that Ping enters the cabin.

'There,' he says as he takes a seat next to Aruna, 'everything's sorted out now.'

Whatever needed sorting out is not something Jinn was made aware of so he doesn't care. Jinn has learned Ping has a habit of talking aloud, regardless of whether he's actually conversing with the people around him.

'Now tell me, Jinn,' says Ping, 'have you ever tried to bend the other elements before?'

Jinn has also learned that Ping has a habit of jumping straight to the point when he's determined. Jinn has decided early on that he doesn't like Ping for that.

'I haven't tried to earth bend until I did it by accident a couple years ago,' says Jinn in lieu of an actual answer.

'Understandable,' Ping nods, unperturbed.

'Most avatars don't bend the other elements until they start training for it,' says Aruna.

It's definitely the sour mood. Jinn frowns. He tries his best to get back to reworking the leather and making something useful.

The rest of the trip is spent in silence, much to Jin's relief. Occasionally he'd swear when the car jerks or sways over uneven tracks tugging at his elbow hard enough to misalign pieces and glue them together wrong.

'We're here!' Aruna announces, bouncing in her seat.

Jinn peers out the window. In the distance, he can see the rise of the unnatural landscape in the distance. A collection of towers and columns clustered together, each one reaching higher than the last, like a slow competition to touch the heavens. He had known Republic City was big in theory. But those numbers that would be recited to him back home were generally meaningless. A million people sounds like a lot, but no one can truly understand the scale of such a number without first being dwarfed by skyscrapers. Jinn had no idea.

Then there were the people. So many, so clearly from everywhere in the world, united. Everyone looked cleaner, but not necessarily fancier. People were built leaner, the demands of city life different from the mines and rig workers in the far countries of Jinn's homeland. The fashion seemed to consist mostly of knee length dresses and skirts, and smart looking shirts and ties in a wide array of colour. The traditional reds, greens, and blues mixed indiscriminately with all other colours. Gone are the clear markers of heritage.

There was a moment where Jinn's head whipped around to get a good look at a person dressed all in one colour, the cut of their outfit resembling something from centuries past. Traditionalists. In the hour it took the train to get from the cities edge to the station, Jinn spotted maybe half a dozen.

Aruna was bouncing in her seat by the time the train finally rolled to a stop at the station platform. Ping absently put a hand on her shoulder to keep her in her seat. It doesn't stop her from bounding out the door when the conductor lets the car door slide open. For a brief moment, Jinn is distracted by the train whistle, and when he turns back to look out at the station, Aruna is gone. In her place, unloaded baggage, and tired passengers.

When he glances at Ping, he finds the other man unfazed by her absence while he mills about, tracking down his belongings among the pile of baggage.

'Should we,' Jinn hesitates, he's pretty sure it would be appropriate to be worried about Aruna. 'Should we find her or something?'

'Hmm?' Ping looks up with his eyebrows raised, like he's not entirely sure what Jinn is talking about at first. 'Oh. Aruna will be fine.'

How? What little he has seen of Republic City looks homogenous. Every street corner is like a duplicate of every other street corner. Jinn is pretty convinced he'd get lost if he turned around on the spot the wrong way.

Ping must see the look of concern and confusion on Jin's face. 'She's generally good about making it back to the temple by dinner time.' Ping reassures.

The temple. Right. It's supposed to be where he's staying until the White Lotus can track down an appropriate earth bending master to train Jinn. All a worthless endeavour. Once that's done, they'll find out he can't fire bend and that'll be the end of that.

The trip to the temple is somehow calmer. There's more to distract Jinn. He's assaulted with new smells and sights as they sit in the satomobile with open windows. They seem to be moving through older parts of the city. The roads are narrower, less accommodating for the large vehicle, and the old cracks are filled with weeds no one seems to care to clear out. To Jinn, it's a small detail that makes the city feel more alive somehow.

They reach the coast, and Jinn is treated to a pristine view of the stadium, Air Temple Island, and the Avatar Aang Monument. It impresses Jinn, but more than anything, it just makes him miss Vayu and the surrounding mountains even more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tom I forgot to make this multiple chapters like the idiot I am.


	3. Chapter 3

Ping introduces him around the temple, and he's welcomed like he belongs there. It makes trying to settle in more difficult. Aruna comes and goes like clockwork. Gone after breakfast and back before dinner, just like Ping said. Jinn wonders what she's up to every day.

'Schools out so I go hang with friends.'

The answer was accompanied with a half shrug. When Jinn turns to Ping for answers, he's met with a shrug of his own. Is there anything that bothers that man?

‘We’re going to City Hall,’ Ping announces over breakfast.

Jinn finds himself dressed in grey slacks made of thinner material than he's used to, a button up shirt that’s definitely too big, and a jacket with a button that pinches his figure at the waist. Whether that's intentional or not is still up for debate. The person whom had loaned it to him is only fractionally smaller than he is. Still, the narrower range of movement is an entirely new sensation. Jinn figures it’s just something to get used to. It’s not like he's required to haul mining equipment like this.

Ping is similarly dressed, only his outfit is blue. The crest of the white lotus is pinned to his lapel, the subtle glint of the pin is enough to make Ping look respectfully important.

'Hello Ping,' the receptionist greeted without so much as a glance up from behind her tall desk. 'Trip go okay?'

'The mountains were lovely, yes,' Ping's pace only slows down marginally. 'Is Seo-Wong in?'

'She is,' the receptionist pauses as she remembers something, 'uh, she's got a meeting in half an hour.'

'Oh, this won't take long,' Ping's more brisk pace picks back up again.

Jinn follows.

Republic City's City Hall was grand. The general theme of the decor is four stripes - orange, blue, green, and red - dominating emblems and flags. Ping strides through with purpose, hardly letting Jinn so much as glance at the high ceiling.

Seo-Wong wears the earth kingdom colours. She’s a short woman with an upper body that suggests either a well-practiced bender or the handling of rough housing children. If Jinn were to guess, he'd say the latter.

'Ping,' she says with a warm smile and outstretched arms, 'how was your trip?'

'Refreshing,' Ping says simply.

Seo-Wong and ping exchange small bows. Neither of them miss the curious glance in Jinn's direction.

'This is Jinn, he's my understudy.'

From what he’s been told, Jinn knows that it isn’t exactly kosher for the avatar's identity to be known until they have mastered all four elements. That tradition has been broken twice in a row and Ping has made it clear he's disinclined to continue that pattern. So Ping has asked Jinn to keep quiet about his status as the avatar. Not that he has any complaints. Jinn is still holding out on the idea that Ping is mistaken. Jinn's campaign to make that clear to anyone at all has thus far fallen on deaf ears.

Seo-Wong smiles and offers a hand to Jinn and he takes it. 'It’s a pleasure.' What Jinn doesn’t expect is for Seo-Wong to shake with both hands. It’s an oddly warm gesture. 'So what brings you here today?' She looks at Ping and back again.

'I’m looking for an earth bending master,' Ping says cutting right to the point.

Whatever surprise or suspicion Seo-Wong has is well hidden under a practiced political smile. 'I'm sure anyone can give you a name that fits that criteria, why come to me?'

'If I intended to ask for any old earth bender, I wouldn't have come to you. I need a spirit guide,' says Ping, 'a real one.' The last statement added with more emphasis on the word 'real'.

Jinn has learned that even spirit guides, new as they are, are subject to many false claims.

'I'm guessing this may be a new avatar seeking tactic you've come up with?' Seo-Wong asks.

'Oh, certainly changing tactics,' Ping nods.

Jinn perks up at that confirmation. Or, indirect confirmation?

Seo-Wong hmms, but decides not to press further. 'Well, you asked the right person, I don't think you'll find the right answer.' She frowns. It’s clear Seo-Wong already has someone in mind. She doesn't seem all too thrilled about it.

Ping is taken aback. 'I'm sure the spirits have judged this person correctly.'

'Are you sure?' Seo-Wong cuts in with a laugh. 'I've met a lot of spirit guides - real ones -' Seo-Wong adds as an aside to Jinn, 'and spirits can be just as foolish as humans.'

Ping grumbles. Living in a temple lends some biases towards anything involving spirits.

'The woman you're after is Song Bei Fong,' says Seo-Wong, 'good luck finding her because the police sure can't. And no, the name is not a coincidence, she is a genuine member of the Bei Fong clan. When the chief of police called her father to tell her what Song has been up to and ask if she's really a Bei Fong, he laughed and hung up on him.'

Jinn snorts. 'Excuse me.' He purses his lips to try and hide the smile. There's something familiar about how Seo-Wong talks about the Bei Fong clan. He can't quite put his finger on what or why. Stories of the Bei Fong family and their fantastic metal city must have drifted up the mountain to him at some point, he supposes.

'What spirit has bonded to Song Bei Fong?' Ping asks.

Seo-Wong chuckles. 'You're kidding, right?' She looks back and forth between the two of them.

Ping doesn't react. Jinn just shrugs his shoulders and shakes his head.

'A winged boar?' Seo-Wong offers.

Ping mumbles something Jinn doesn't catch, (a swear probably), and then he mumbles something resembling 'of course'.

Whatever significance a winged boar has totally escapes Jinn.

Seo-Wong proceeds to elaborate further on the kind of reputation Song Bei Fong has earned herself in Republic City, and possible leads to find her.

'The short version is that a good chunk of the current legislation put forward is because of her,' says Seo-Wong. 'The council even considered making wearing flags as capes illegal.'

This time, Jinn doesn’t catch himself in time before letting out a chuckle. 'Sorry, sorry.'

'So where can we find her?'

Seo-Wong snorts. ‘You can’t,’ she waves a dismissive hand, ‘and besides, she’s not in town.'

'How would you know that if you can’t find her?’ Ping brings his eyebrows together. To Jinn, he almost looks suspicious.

'She wasn’t in the newspaper this morning,’ Seo-Wong says as if that would make sense.

After a moment, Jinn finds himself nodding like it does.

\--

The trip back to the temple was quiet. Blessingly so. Still, Jinn caught a glimpse of Ping's scrutiny and he could see the wheels turning in his head. Does that man ever stop? Knowing the answer may very well be 'no' put Jinn on edge in a way he didn’t expect.

Their arrival at the temple is met with polite greetings and small talk questions. Mostly directed at Ping. Jinn really didn’t want to stick around. He was getting sick of the Republic City style formal wear. Just when Jinn thinks now would be a good time to duck out and make a run for it, Ping grabs Jinn by the elbow and says, 'Hold on. I just spotted someone I'd like you to meet.'

When Jinn follows Ping's line of sight, he spots Aruna. That in itself is unusual during daytime hours. She is talking animatedly to a young looking air bender.

Or, he's pretty sure. If there’s a way to distinguish acolyte robes from monk robes, Jinn doesn't know. Many members of the air nation have been very keen about upholding ancient traditions. Of course, that hasn’t stopped them from modernizing in some aspects. (A good portion of the monks know how to drive a satomobile, for example.) Still, Jinn is beginning to wonder if the air nation people are traditionalists simply because people expect them to be.

This air bender is just bit shorter than Jinn, and by his estimate, the same weight. Jinn had gained his weight from working at the Rig, whereas this monk happily packed his away in his round cheeks and belly.

'Good morning Ping!' The young monk greeted with a light bow. The moment gives Jinn a view of the crown of the monk's head. The arrow tattoo there is a striking blue. The sharp edges and vivid colour tell Jinn the ink is pretty fresh.

'Jinn, this is Huan,' says Ping. ‘A talented air bender and a spirit guide.’

Jinn nods a ‘hello’ and holds out a hand as a reflex. It occurs to him too late that maybe he should have bowed and wonders if that’s the kind of social fumble that the more traditional monk would frown upon.

‘It’s a pleasure to meet you Jinn,’ Huan doesn’t miss a beat and shakes Jinn’s outstretched hand in two of his own. Much the same way Seo-Wong had. ‘What brings you to Air Temple Island?’

‘I came across Jinn in my search for the avatar,’ says Ping. ‘He’s an earth bender from the northern mountains and needs proper training.’

Huan’s eyebrows shoot up in mild surprise. 'All the way out there?' Huan's expression changes to become more contemplative. 'Well, there aren't any spirit guides in that region so I suppose that makes sense.'

Jinn isn't quite sure what that has to do with it. Should there have been one in Vayu?

Ping pointedly stay quiet.

Aruna straightens up like she remembers something. 'Hold on, why are _you_  here?' she asks Huan. 'I thought you were supposed to be in Omashu.'

Huan's shoulders sag and he sighs. 'I didn't even make it to Omashu to be honest.'

Omashu is a long way from Republic City. Further than Vayu, if Jinn remembers correctly.

'I came across a mining operation,' says Huan.

Jinn's opinion of Huan immediately plummets. It honestly shouldn't have come to much of a surprise that Huan would turn out to be one of those. ‘Grievers’ is what Xia called them. Hippie types that advocate for the safety and comfort of spirit beings. Jinn would be all for that in theory. Except they've been misguided into believing that anything humans do cause harm to spirits. This has lead more extremist types to pull stunts to disrupt work sites in protest. This is inconvenient at best. There have been several stories of protesters putting themselves and others in serious danger. It has put people like that squarely on Jinn’s shit list.

Spirits don't care what humans do. Jinn knows this firsthand. If spirits get disturbed, the most fuss they put up is complaining about the noise and then relocate to somewhere out of the way. Spirits take care of themselves. It's such a non-issue that Jinn has to wonder how that trend took off in the first place.

The distaste must show on Jinn's face, because Huan quickly says, 'It's not what you think.'

Jinn rolls his eyes.

'If anything, Huan would be the first to tell you how wrong grievers are,' Aruna jumps in, 'he's an excellent spirit guide.'

'Well, not quite. But thank you,' Huan glances at Aruna. 'Except this time the grievers would have a point.'

'Not really,' says Aruna.

Huan's mouth twists up. 'A-anyways,' Huan says, 'all the spirits around that site warned me that it's too dangerous to mine there. They seemed pretty upset. Scared even. I tried to warn the foreman, but, well...' Huan shrugs and shakes his head.

With so many incidents with grievers, no foreman in their right mind would listen to any advice involving work stoppages.

‘I was told that if I want to try and convince anyone of anything, I needed to come to their headquarters in Republic City. So, here I am,’ Huan finishes.

‘What company?’ Jinn askes.

‘I think they were called Iris.’

Jinn lets out a harsh laugh. ‘You’ve been given the run around. They don’t have a headquarters.’

‘At all?’ Aruna asks.

‘Nope,’ Jinn doesn’t bother to hide the mocking tone in his voice, 'good luck with your... mission.'

Jinn moves to peel away from the group. Instead, Jinn finds himself tugged back into place by a hand on his elbow for the second time in five minutes.

'It seems like to me,' says Ping, 'that your expertise and assistance would be a great asset to Huan's... mission.'

Jinn gaps in disbelief. 'Excuse me?'

Jinn really shouldn’t be surprised that Ping is throwing him under the satobus. It's mostly the audacity. Still, there is nothing about Ping's demeanor that suggests he doesn't one hundred percent know exactly what he's doing to Jinn. Devious. Evil. Jinn narrows his eyes at the man.

'Jinn is also good with spirits. He'd be able to offer a second opinion on the spirits there,' says Aruna.

Of course Aruna is in on this too. She generally takes Ping's side. Jinn has picked up that Ping tends to turn primarily to Aruna for council. Jinn isn't sure if he'd be more or less upset if it turns out Aruna's motive to egg this along is just for a good laugh. Jinn let’s Aruna know where she stands with him with a well-placed glare.

'Really?' Huan is looking at Jinn with a pleased expression. 'It would be an honour if you could join me.'

Jinn can’t exactly say ‘no’ to a request like that. So he says nothing. Which everyone deliberately misinterprets as a ‘yes’.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tom, I think I'm starting to get the hang of Jinn's character.


	4. Chapter 4

It isn't so much that Jinn recognized it was a dream, as it is that he recognized that it wasn't reality.

Jinn soon finds that his surroundings only come into focus when he stops trying to look at them. Glimpses of trees and wooden huts decorate his peripheral vision. The smell of burning wood and smoke greet him.

Oh, it's one of those visions again. The one that he doesn't want to talk about to... Someone? Whatever. Those details are inconsequential now.

Jinn walks.

The forest grass under his feet transforms into tamped down dirt, and that in turn becomes cobblestone. If there are houses and buildings around, Jinn can't see any.

There is a cloth laid out on the cobblestone. A figure kneels on the cloth, head bowed, both hands rest outstretched and turned up. A beggar?

When he walks closer, Jinn can see the pink and reds of the outfit, and the open sleeves that end at the elbow. Long straight hair cascade over their shoulders, head down low enough for it to create pools of black on the tattered cloth. A fire nation woman.

A coin drops onto the cloth (it didn’t come from Jinn) and the woman reaches out to grab it. Her motion stalls when her head picks up enough to spot Jinn's foot, where he stands just shy of the edge of the cloth. The woman looks up at Jinn.

He recognizes the long face and sharp features. It's been five years since he'd last seen her (him?). It's the same boy (girl?) who has been visiting Jinn in visions since he was six. The same spark of recognition dawns on her (?) – their face.

They stand in a smooth motion, eyes still locked on Jinn's face. After a moment of scrutiny, their face turns grim. They turn quickly on their heel, and run.

'Wait!' Jinn is already setting off after them.

As Jinn saw a flash of black hair disappear into the after image of the surrounding forests, the world began tipping sideways. His foot slips out from under him, and he reaches out to catch himself. His hands only meet air. He free falls. A dark pit swallows him whole.

\--

Come morning, Jinn remembers to be thoroughly disappointed in himself for letting people involve him in situations that he really should not be involved in.

Huan seems to pick up on Ping's 'move quickly before Jinn has a chance to object' strategy. 'I didn't bother unpacking' he said. 'I figure it would be more efficient' he said.

Jinn caught Aruna snickering at breakfast the next morning, which Jinn did not appreciate. This only encouraged her to offer the cheekiest grin she could manage.

'Shut up. Don’t give me that,’ says Jinn as he pours himself a cup of tea.

'I didn’t say anything,' says Aruna, feigning innocence, 'it has hardly been three days and you’re already taking your duty as the avatar so seriously. Very admirable.'

'Why,' Jinn deadpans, 'are you so invested in my suffering.'

'Probably because our education system fails to teach the youth about the value of compassion and empathy,' Aruna shrugs.

Jinn decides there are better places to drink his tea. He hears the sounds of cackling teenager echo after him in his quest to find peace and solitude.

\--

When it came time to leave, Huan introduced Jinn to Mushi, the flying bison. Mushi is large, which should generally go without saying when it comes to flying bison, but the point was particularly notable to Jinn as soon as he realized could sit at the very back of the saddle, and be too far away from the head of the animal where Huan sat to have any meaningful conversations. When the monk looks over his shoulder at Jinn before take-off, it’s almost like he’s trying to make a point of how not offended he is by this arrangement. With Huan accompanying Jinn on the way out of Republic City, Ping felt no need to be part of this venture. A relief on Jinn's part.

The trip to the Iris operation is not as difficult as Jinn had first assumed. The open air travel was steady, and the rushing air was not unlike that of the high mountains. Consequently, Jinn ended up rather liking travel by flying bison.

They touched down at a nearby village. The rest of the trip would have to be made on the outbound shuttle to the worksite in the morning. Huan had made it pretty clear that Iris as a company was not a big fan of him, so having him around the worksite would only invite animosity. There was no argument made that Jinn should make the rest of the journey alone.

Oddly enough, Huan has generally spent the trip staying out of Jinn's way. Jinn has no complaints about this. Although, he did figure that Huan would wonder what he had planned for when he does get to the Iris worksite. Huan didn’t ask, and Jinn didn’t feel inclined to share, so that’s that.

\--

The mining site is not an open pit.

Instead, there is a shaft with an elevator that is run by a pair of earth benders. The fields around the shaft hole are scattered with burly trucks, equipment, and temporary structures. A sign at the gate indicates that all visitors must report to the onsite administration building. Jinn has no trouble spotting it, and makes his way over.

The temporary building is somehow both more and less organized than Jinn expected. There are a few workers milling about, drinking their tea on a break. None of them give Jinn a second glance and he returns the favour in kind. Jinn makes his way to the most important looking office. It’s the only one that bothers to have a filing cabinet. There, he finds a fellow that looks up from a binder sitting on top of a pile of paperwork. Jinn would hope there’s a desk under all that.

Jinn is met with suspicion immediately. He ignores this in favour of popping his hand out in front of him and introducing himself.

'Hello! I’m Ren. The rep I’m sure you’ve been expecting from Vayu.'

When the project manager questioned his legitimacy, Jinn put on his best confused face.

'You didn’t hear about this? That’s strange.' This is when Jinn pulls out a pen and note pad and makes a few marks. The notepad is absolutely one hundred percent a prop to make himself look important. Jinn had the good sense to doodle a few things in it beforehand to make it look used. 'And here I thought you had already been contacted about a possible joint operation.'

The project manager waits to see where Jinn is going with this. A wise choice, if this was a legitimate offer.

'I suppose that means you won’t have the time to give me a tour of your operation,’ says Jinn. ‘What a shame.'

The act seems to work. It’s not too far off from Jinn's early days of feigning ignorance to get out of doing a job too tedious for his impatient attitude.

The manager looks like he almost wants to say something. Jinn pretends he doesn’t notice and drops his ace in the hole.

'That’s alright. I'll contact the Fei Shu Company and let them know I'll be arriving early.' Jinn drags the pen back and forth across his notepad in broad, horizontal strokes. He flips the notepad shut and motions to stand up.

That’s when the manager hastily protests. Naturally, the manager would not let a potential deal like this fall through to Fei Shu, a similarly sized rival contractor.

‘O-oh, of course we were expecting you!’ says the manager as he hastily gets up out of his seat. ‘I beg your pardon, I get so invested in my work that this must have slipped my mind.’

Jinn mentally rolls his eyes at that. _Nice save, buddy._

‘I am Kobi,’ he offers his hands out again to give Jinn a proper welcome handshake. ‘I am one of the heads of Iris, and I personally manage our biggest operation right here on site.’

‘Impressive,’ says Jinn, even though he’s actually thinks the opposite. ‘I’m glad I found the right guy.’ This is the first honest thing he’s said during this entire interaction.

\--

The tour is lackluster. Kobi seems to have assumed that Jinn is an investor, or some similar kind of person who does not understand the finer details of how work sites like this one operate. It’s a real shame, because there were some fancy looking pieces of equipment that Jinn was really looking forward to getting a closer look at. But for the sake of keeping up the act, Jinn chooses to play up on all of Kobi’s assumptions.

After about an hour, Kobi steers Jinn back into the administration building.

‘It’s about time we had a tea break, eh?’ says Kobi. ‘Have a seat in my office. Is jasmine tea alright?’

‘Yes, thank you,’ says Jinn.

Kobi peels off in the direction of the break room while Jinn goes back to Kobi’s office. He takes advantage of the small reprieve to groan out his frustrations. He only has to pretend to get along with Kobi for maybe another fifteen minutes and then he’s out of here.

Kobi doesn’t take long to return with two cups of hot tea.

Jinn is sitting in the chair across from the desk with his arms crossed over his chest. He reaches for the offered cup of tea and thanks Kobi.

With half the tea gone and some light conversation between them (and a few unsubtle prying questions from Kobi trying to get at Jinn’s impression of Iris) Jinn decides to make his next move.

'Would you by chance, be able to take me down the mine shaft?' Jinn asks. ‘After our tea break, of course.’

'Oh, no,' Kobi says with a little more excitement than Jinn expected. 'Far too dangerous for, eh, um-'

'For someone without proper training?' Jinn cuts in.

'Precisely!' says Kobi. 'I mean, we can’t compromise our excellent safety protocol. In fact, we haven’t had a single death since this operation started a year ago.'

'Really?' Jinn’s eyebrows jump up to his hairline. 'That’s impressive.'

Jinn thinks he’s heard enough. He discreetly drains the rest of his tea.

‘I’d say that just about does it for me,’ says Jinn. He hold out the empty tea cup over the desk toward Kobi. ‘Thank you for the tea.’

With the entire surface of his desk occupied with various paper and binders, Kobi has no real place to put them down. Jinn can see the conflict on Kobi’s face until he decides he’d rather not appear any messier than he already has. He stands up and says ‘excuse me.’

‘Not at all,’ says Jinn. He stands up as well. ‘I should be going anyways.’

Jinn let’s Kobi lead the way out his office. He is then escorted off the premise with an enthusiastic goodbye from Kobi. Jinn tries his best not to give away how eager he is to leave.

\--

Jinn learned then that smuggling documents is actually more difficult than smuggling tools.

\--

'You did what?'

There’s a moment where Jinn sees Huan reign in his own reaction and settles back into his well-trained, polite smile. Jinn isn’t fooled by it. He can see the strain in the raised eyebrows and thin line of Huan’s smile. Whatever Huan had thought Jinn would do when he went to the mining site, offering to do a joint operation between Iris and Vayu was probably not it.

'I mean, it technically can happen if Iris turns out to be clean,' Jinn clarifies. ‘A contract with Iris would actually do Vayu a lot of good. Even if Kobi is an idiot.’ He isn’t lying. Kobi does not know how to handle himself in a meeting with a potential client, but his operation appears solid. Jinn plans to contact Xia and let him know what’s happened if he did end up brokering a deal between Iris and Vayu. The proposed partnership between the two would be greatly beneficial.

But first, there’s some more investigating to do.

Huan seems to be less surprised by the documents Jinn laid down on the table in their room at the inn. Why Huan seems to be more comfortable with theft than business negotiations is anyone’s guess. Either way, Jinn has quite a bit of reading ahead of him.

Jinn knows if you want to figure out how a company operates, you don’t follow the operation, you follow the money. This is precisely why he stole the accounting files.

Financially, Iris isn’t doing so well. At a glance, Iris should be making a profit. The volume and quality of the ore that is dug up here is more than enough to ensure exponential growth for Iris as a company. The company's budget told a different story. Jinn had to do a double take when he read those numbers. The operation he had visited houses about a hundred, yet the budget report seems to suggest Iris employs about four hundred people. By his estimate, the cost of operations should be one third of what is being reported.

Where's that extra money going?

The other documents Jinn stole are incident reports. After that little tidbit Kobi dropped at the last minute, Jinn had to see what they had to say. It turns out Iris seems to be doing very excellent as a company in terms of safety regulations and protocol. All the near-miss incidents practically boast about how well the workers and management handle any given situation. No deaths in the past year however, which is deeply suspicious.

The reality of the situation is that injuries and loss of life aren’t as expensive as people think. As long as they don’t happen often enough, a company buying its way out of trouble is more profitable than a company that thoroughly investigates every major injury and death. Jinn expected at least two major incident reports and one loss of life report over the course of the past year. After a second read through, Jinn confirms there have been none. This is unusual to an unnatural degree.

Jinn obviously talks to Huan about Iris’ financial situation. He does not tell Huan that there aren’t as many people dying than there should be. Jinn figures it would be better if he didn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way Tom, call me over confident but when we made that deadline deal, my laptop was in pieces after having spilled water on it.


End file.
